Her Future’s So Bright…

HG went to see Grandma Jeanne and Geggy yesterday so that I could get some things done on my to-do list, and this is what I saw when I peeked into her carseat as John brought her back home. How cute!! Hahaha, her future’s so bright, she’s got to wear shades!

When we go to dinner with the grandparents, Miss HG has be to passed around so that everyone gets adequate and even time with her.  I thought this was a cute one of the Toohig clan oohing and ahhing over her.

Helen Grace had a great night of sleep again last night- she slept better through the storm than either one of us did- but this morning, she threw a hissy fit. I tried all the tricks I could think of, but nothing worked. I handed her off to her daddy who got creative. He got on Napster and found some dance jams for her. When I heard the music, I went upstairs to find her sitting on the side of John’s desk, bopping away to the music (with some help from her daddy). She especially loved Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Got a Feeling,” Daughtry’s “It’s No Surprise,” and Katie Perry’s “Waking Up In Vegas.” By the end of the dance party, we were all laughing, and our happy baby was back!

I’ve Been Tagged!

My friend Courtney at http://rogersinthemaking.blogspot.com tagged me, so here it goes!

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. A laugh or a word from Helen Grace
2. A trip to the beach
3. Our annual girls and moms pottery trip
4. Family and friends coming in town for HG’s baptism in the fall
5. Our proofs from Itsy Bitsy Photography- maybe even today!
6. A play with Brandy tonight
7. “Kendra” tonight where she tells everyone she’s pregnant and her mom goes off (I’m obviously addicted to reality tv)
8. Our next family cuddle (sorry, I know I’m cheesy)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

For a change, I had quite a productive day!

1. Went to a Junior Auxiliary work party for Jump Back to School
2. Ate leftovers from Memphis Pizza Cafe- yummm
3. Worked my way through some baby clothes that Rachel so kindly passed along to me
4. Caught up with Em
5. Treated myself to a Sonic Blast
6. Washed and folded a ton of laundry
7. Caught up on HG’s baby book- filled in more blanks, added last few pictures, wrote a letter to her, etc.
8. Updated blog and Facebook with new pics

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Play soccer- or really any sport
2. Have toned arms (although HG is helping with that)
3. Be a runner (are you noticing a theme here?)
4. Fix my hair like my hair dresser does
5. Enjoy yard work and vacuuming
6. See my out-of-town buddies on a daily basis- or even all live on the same street. Now that’s a dream, huh?
7. Get into a daily Bible study routine
8. Invent a car that would fill itself with gas

8 TV Shows I Like:

The fact that I had to narrow this down to my top 8 let’s me know that I have a serious tv problem. These are the ones I have set to record on my DVR and enjoy watching when I’m up in the middle of the night. Going back to work ought to curb this habit!

1. The Philanthropist
2. 18 and Counting
3. Tori & Dean
4. Jon and Kate Plus 8
5. Kendra
6. Toddlers and Tiaras
7. Denise Richards
8. The Little Couple

Friends I Tag:

1. Angela
2. Brandy
3. Cam
4. Morgan (both of you!)
5. Summer
   

Oh Yeah…This Is What Sleep Feels Like!

Baby girl has been teasing us with sleeping through the night for a few days now. She has slept 6 or 7 hours straight two separate times, although not in back to back nights; however, we have either been kept awake by a sick kitty cat or a monitor alarm going off all night (more on that in a sec), or we were pushing her paci back in her mouth while turning her lullaby CD back on. BUT…last night, our sweet baby slept from 9:00 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. and didn’t make a PEEP throughout the night. Other parents kept telling me that there would be a morning where you woke up and panicked when you realized that you hadn’t heard the baby all night, and to be honest, I was beginning to doubt that would ever happen but IT FINALLY DID! And I have to pat us on the back…John and I are terrible about going to bed when she goes to bed and end up staying up too late just piddling online or watching tv, but last night we were in bed before 10:00 p.m. I feel so rested, and our house was definitely a happy place this morning!!

Wednesday night was our first night with HG on the apnea monitor, and it was a disaster. The alarm went off at 2:00 a.m. and scared me to death. I was so delirious when I got up to the nursery that I didn’t look to see if it was going off because of her not breathing or if it was a mechanical problem. I didn’t have to wait too long to figure it out because it soon went off again and again and again. After calling the 24-hour number, we determined that the machine was working properly but I was putting it on her incorrectly. And with that news and hearing loss from the shrill alarm, I took it off of her and called it a night!! Whew! A therapist came the next day and showed me how to position it on her chest (needed to be lower than first shown to me), and last night we had no alarms. Hooray!! Let’s hope I have finally gotten the hang of it and that this proves that HG is fine but the first monitor was faulty. Fingers crossed.

With every day, Helen Grace is more and more alert. She’s noticing fans and lights, and she is really getting less stingy with her smiles. I snagged a pic of one with my Blackberry, so it’s a little blurry but you get the point.

Also, if you are looking for an 8-week picture, you will have to wait for a 2-month one coming up soon. When we took the 7-week picture, John asked me with a sly smile when we were going to move from taking weekly pictures to monthly pictures, so I got the hint and will let go of my picture-taking obsession. Well, kind of. We’ll do monthly pics from here on out. Y’all know I’m kind of OCD! :)

Helen Grace went to her first Moore family Thursday night Seafood Junction dinner in Byhalia last night. Bubba about fell out of her chair when we walked in and surprised her, and she was on Cloud 9 the rest of the night! She got to introduce her to all her buddies, and I loved when she got up to get a salad, she told me to “watch her baby for her.” We are still trying to get the catfish stench off of her, but a bath today helped a little. ;)

Here are more pictures from our week…Ok, Mama, I know I’m cute. Get it over with- take the picture.Enough already, woman!

Daddy’s #1 Fan

Helen Grace got to see her daddy play soccer for the first time this past weekend! Although she didn’t physically show her support and pride as she watched from underneath her eyelids, I know that she was feeling it in her heart. ;)

  

 

Helen Grace also loves to take a shower.  Her bathtub fits perfectly on the bench in the back of our shower. It’s wild to watch, but she just smiles ear to ear when John takes her out of her tub and holds her in the shower (I think she likes the warm air) and even when he lets the water run down her back. Let’s hope she’ll be a water baby!

Helen Grace got to meet Thomas Mullins and his parents this weekend when they were here for a visit from Houston. Thomas’ dad, Larry, grew up with John, and we hope that Thomas and HG will look back years from now and love being buddies!

Gaining Weight

Our baby girl is growing like a weed! She now weighs 9 pounds 5 ounces and is 20.5 inches long. She has almost doubled her birth weight- can you believe it?! She's finally outgrown the preemie outfits and is wearing either newborn or 0-3 month clothes. I had mixed emotions when I packed away those itty bitty clothes. I am so thankful that she is healthy and getting big and strong, but I hate to see her growing so quickly because I know it will never slow down now. She is just so tall! I can really tell when we put her in the car seat, and she is almost as long as the newborn insert.

We have almost gotten the spit up problem under control by finding the right formula, thank goodness. That was not a fun stage! Now this hypochondriac mama is worried about her breathing. Since I have a brother that passed away from SIDS, I am very cautious and aware of her sleeping habits. We have an Angelcare monitor in her bed that sets off an alarm if she doesn't move or breathe in 20 seconds. It has been going off a lot since she's been in her bed, but we have been making all kinds of excuses. Now we have put a piece of plywood under her mattress, taken her off the wedge we were using for reflux, and kept her still in the middle of the bed, and it is still going off. Our doctor wants us to put her on a heart rate and breathing monitor for a few weeks to see if all of this is due to a faulty Angelcare monitor or if she is having some sleep apnea issues. I hate to make my baby go through all of this, but I would rather be safe than sorry. At least, it'll make ME sleep better knowing what's going on!

Our baby girl isn't the only person in our house gaining weight! We took Rebel and Mocha to the vet today for their shots, and while Mocha has lost half a pound (now weighs 8 pounds 2 ounces), Rebel has more than gained that much (now weighs 10 pounds 6 ounces). Rebel has gotten HUGE. The vet thinks that Mocha might be a little stressed by our new addition and is losing weight as a result, although we still see him chowing down all the time. Poor kitty! I know Mocha will be back up to his hearty weight in no time, once he gets used to the new smells and noises in our house.

Tonight I am celebrating that I have gotten ONE big thing off my to do list. While I was pregnant, I kept a journal of all our progress, emotions, and big events along the way. I am embarrassed to say that it hasn't been touched since we got home from the hospital, and I hated to have a big gap in documenting Helen Grace's life. I sat down last night and just wrote until my hand fell off. I got all the major details of her birth captured and most of our milestones since then. I feel like a huge weight is off my chest! Now, I MUST catch up on thank you notes. Please, please forgive me if you haven't received one yet. I strive to make thank you notes very personal to the giver as I know you worked hard to pick out a very personal gift for us, so bear with me as I find the time to attempt to adequately thank you for thinking of us!

Enjoy some pictures from our week!

I'm seven weeks old! July 13, 2009

She's really starting to notice shiny things and responding to sounds, so we got out some of her mirrors and rattles the other night. She had a blast checking everything out!

Loving her mirror!

And of course, Helen Grace loves her soccer rattle that the Lady Quistors gave her! She's our 'Future Star.'

Helen Grace got to meet Elizabeth and Rylie Nance this week when the Nances were in town. Rylie is almost exactly a month older than HG. Wish they lived closer to us! Rylie is a doll!
So I admittedly have a dress-up addiction now that our baby girl is fitting in more clothes. :) This is another outfit of mine from years ago. She wore it to meet Doty and Caroline Yates. Caroline was born on July 3rd, and we are so glad she is finally here! Caroline was taking a nap and HG was fussy, so we weren't able to properly document the meeting.As I put together pictures for this post, I noticed a common theme...a conked out baby! We've been on the go all week, so when we get home, she passes out!

Social Butterfly

What a fun week! We've been so busy, and Miss Helen Grace is quite the social butterfly. I've enjoyed being able to get out and about with her more often, and thankfully, she is a great traveler and loves being on the go. She is getting more alert with every day, and she is busy moving around all the time. She loves to arch her back, turn her head from side to side, and she'll kick herself off your lap if you're not careful! We continue to be so amazed by our little girl, and we are truly blessed to have this itty bitty piece of heaven. Here is our past week in pictures...

Cuddling with Daddy

Helen Grace surprised my mom at work, Greenbrook Elementary, one day this week. Spif saw us out the window and came running outside before we even got to the door- ha! I think she was a little excited to see us. We hope it will be HG's first and only trip to the principal's office!
Check out that tummy! From my jumping on the scale at home with and without her, it looks like she weighs in the high 9 pounds now.

Aunt Emily came for a visit this weekend- we had such a good time! When HG wouldn't go to sleep Saturday night, we had a fun hen party in her nursery in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks, Em, for all your patience and help, and we can't wait for the next slumber party!

We met Ashley and Wynn Carter for lunch at Newk's when they were in town from Nashville. Wynn and HG are about 5 months apart, and it was amazing to see how much they grow and change in that small amount of time.

Wynn Carter and Helen Grace...future Delta Gamma pledge sisters?

Happy six weeks! July 6, 2009

My mom smocked this dress for me when I was a baby! Maybe I ought to sign up for some smocking classes...

We went down to New Albany so that Angela Davis could take some pictures of Helen Grace. Check out Angela's Itsy Bitsy Photography blog- she is an amazing photographer. We tried a naked pose which I think will turn out to be really cute, but it ended with pee running down my leg...and that was the end of the naked pics! Here she is working hard for the perfect shot with HG and Daddy.

Posing for the camera

HG wiggling in the tutu that Aunt Rachel made for her!

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

When Helen Grace is trying to wake up, she makes all sorts of funny noises and faces, and I took this video of her cuteness recently. I could just eat her up!

Our Little Pink Firecracker

Happy Birthday, America!

We had a great 4th of July and spent most of the day hanging around the Browns' pool and later cooked some burgers. Helen Grace had her second dip in the water (just her toes!), and this time she actually could somewhat fill out her adorable pink and white bikini. Progress! While her daddy was a little fussed about the girly roses on her swim suit, I thought she was pretty stinkin' cute. I somehow managed to survive wearing a bikini for the first time in almost a year, but I had the opposite problem from HG fitting into mine! We were worried about braving the crowd at the Olive Branch Park for the fireworks and weren't sure how Helen Grace would react to the noise, so we stayed at home on the couch and watched the New York fireworks on tv. They were absolutely amazing!

We really enjoyed a three day weekend together, almost caught up on our sleep, and even went to a movie (we loved "The Proposal"- so funny!). We are so grateful for all of the men and women who serve our country and have sacrificed so that we can have this freedom.

Our little pink firecracker!

She pitched a fit when her toes first hit the water.
And then she decided she might like it. I giggle every time I see this pic- looks like John's baptizing her. :)

John and HG were exhausted after a long day of lounging by the pool and cooking out!

Five

Helen Grace is now five weeks old! She had had enough of our picture taking during her five-week photo shoot (and we were exhausted of getting her to cooperate), so this week's picture is what it is. :)

The barium swallow went well yesterday, and Helen Grace was such a big girl! We were asked to bring her hungry to the appointment so that she would drink willingly, and I worried that she would be throwing a hissy fit by the time we got there. She was zonked out in her car seat though, and when we were called back, I was relieved to find out that one of my sweet sorority sisters would be the speech pathologist working with us- wow, what a small world! Helen Grace did beautifully during the test and was more than willing to drink that nasty barium. They didn't find anything wrong- everything is going down correctly- so it looks like it is acid reflux causing her to spit up, choke/cough, and sound raspy after eating. I'm hoping to hear our plan of action from our pediatrician soon.

We are excited about the fourth of July holiday weekend coming up! I wonder what HG will think about fireworks??

I'm five weeks old! June 29, 2009

Meeting cousin Ryves

Meeting the Hancock cousins

Now that Helen Grace is getting a little bigger, she is beginning to fit in her clothes. This dress she is wearing is the one I wore home from the hospital as a baby. :) First trip to Huey's...and let it be clear that it was her granddaddy's idea to put the straw to her mouth.